22.7.11

Ayn, an impish and beautiful nine year old girl with severe autism was taken from her family based on the assumption that her father - with two other children one of whom is also severly autistic - has more than he can handle.

When ministry workers told Derek, her father, that they wanted to take Ayn, he - like any parent - said, essentially, "over my dead body." And now, because he hasn't signed an agreement that states he voluntarily let them take her, he's facing an ongoing uphill legal battle to get her home.

Let me put it on the line here: Ayn is not neglected; Ayn is not abused. Ayn is not in immediate danger - not any more than any of our children.

However, since she's gone into care, Ayn has been subjected to abuse and neglect and is in plenty of danger.

The abuse: Within 70 hours of going into care, Ayn was put on two antipsychotic medications (risperdal and seroquel - both used typically to treat schizophrenia). Ayn has not been medicated before. Derek nor Ayn's mother approved drugs for their daughter. Since then she's also been put on another powerful antipsychotic (Chlorpromazine) which is administered at twice the recommended daily dosage for her age!

The neglect: For 18 days straight little Ayn cried for her daddy. Finally, on the 19th day, ministry workers asked Derek for a photograph to give to her. Is letting a child cry for 18 days straight not neglect?

The danger: Everytime Ayn acts out, she is medicated. Everytime Ayn asks for her Daddy, she is told he's not coming. Everytime Ayn cries, her father cannot hold her. She is being cared for by people who do not love her and would rather drug her than cope with her autistic behaviours. Does that not sound dangerous to you?

>> If you can spare any money, consider donating to help pay for legal fees and experts. This fundraising site, created by Kat over at Kat's Cafe also features a widget you can add to your blog to encourage others to donate.

>> If you blog yourself, please, blog about Ayn. You can come back here and link in. You can also tweet your blog post under the #BlogforAyn hashtag and we'll make sure it gets seen by everyone! If you don't blog, but are on Twitter, feel free to RT the #BlogforAyn tweets to help spread the news.

>> Finally, if you've signed the petition and are wondering what kind of difference your one click will make, consider extending your influence by writing to those who have the power to reverse this decision:

Comments Policy

If you would like to post a comment anonymously on this blog, feel free. I do not guarantee publication of anonymous comments and I will never respond to them.At the very least use a pseudonym. And use the same pseudonym each time you comment.My name and face go with everything I write. I ask a similar courtesy from you.For explanation.